Review #194: Power Stone Collection

 So... what's a Power Stone?

 Power Stone is one of the many, many great Capcom Arcade games that never saw a port outside the Dreamcast... until the PSP Collection. Collecting everything Power Stone, Capcom yet again delivers a fantastic PSP package. Power Stone Collection includes Power Stone 1, Power Stone 2 and the three VMU mini-games in one neat package, alongside a couple of extras in the form of official art.

 Power Stone is an Arena based 1-on-1 fighting game. As with most games of its ilk, there's a bunch of weapons that you can collect in order to defeat your opponent, but the game's main feature are the Power Stones. Defaulting at three(5 on the Sequel, but you can change it in the options menu), gathering these stones will temporarily transform your character into a super version of him or herself. It's not as simple as it sounds, as getting knocked down will make one of your stones fall down, allowing your enemy to grab it. All in all, it's a fairly fun game, and the version featured in this Collection allows you to unlock the new comers from Power Stone 2, which sounds awesome until you play as them. Y'see, these 4 unlockable characters play just as they do in Power Stone 2, with a simplified control scheme, which translates to less moves, and they are much, much slower than the other characters. Basically, they are completely outclassed, making them a pretty worthless extra. As for ways to play it, there's Arcade, Versus, Training, Ad-Hoc Vs, Training and an unlockable 'rear view' Arcade Run.

 Power Stone 2 builds upon Power Stone 1, now you can play with up to three other players/CPUs, it features even more items and weapons, more characters(Kind of a null point since you can unlock them in this PSP port on the prequel!) alongside interactive stages that feature transitions into other areas and even vehicles and turrets! The controls have been simplified, reducing attacks to just one button and removing one of the two normal attacks of a character's super form. While characters move a bit slower, when playing with 3 other enemies, it's barely noticeable, and that's how you should be playing the game this time around. Weapons are more prominent than before, as even gems will appear inside chests instead of simply spawning on the ground, unlike the first game. As for Modes, there's a 1-on-1 Arcade run, 1-on-3 Arcade run, Versus, Adventure(A slightly altered 1-on-1 run, Ad Hoc, Training and a Network-only Bomber battle).

 Power Stone 2 only has five stages, which as fun and multi-tiered as they are, they can eventually get old, but you can unlock four other stages(Only for use in Vs or Practice) for a total of 9, which isn't so bad. You can also unlock the two Power Stone 1 bosses, and they are much faster than the characters in this game, plus, they have more moves, kinda making them a bit too good when compared to the rest of the cast. All things considered, I think I like Power Stone one a little bit better, but I'm sure Power Stone 2 is the better multi-player game.

 As much as I enjoyed both games, I had a couple of gripes. First of all, the loading times are a bit long, particularly on Power Stone 2. And the other one, which I thought was worse, is that they didn't rework the 'guest' characters to fit the other game. Power Stone 2 characters in Power Stone 1 are useless, they are too slow to even stand a chance, and their reduced movesets make them not as fun to use. Capcom should've, at least, increase their movement speed. The same goes for the Power Stone 1 characters in Power Stone 2, they are much faster than the others, with more moves, was it too much of a bother to put them in line with the rest of the cast? These features could've been a really cool bonus, but as it stands, they are a very disappointing extra.

 Both games use the same engine, as far as I could tell, which means that they look the same. Not that it's a bad thing, as both games are very colorful and good looking. Stages are pretty creative, specially Power Stone 2's with their multiple transitions. The characters, sadly, aren't very creative, they are fairly generic, and slightly uninspired, their super transformations are much, much better though, still, let's just say that there's a reason they never made it to Capcom's VS games. Music, while hardly Capcom's finest, is pretty good and upbeat, very fitting of the games.

 Power Stone Collection is a great way to get to play the Power Stone games, you even get official art and the VMU mini-games. Still, it doesn't necessarily make the Dreamcast ports obsolete, as the new unlockable characters are fairly disappointing and not worth double dipping into the series.

 8.0 out of 10 

Review #193: Guilty Gear Judgment

 Let's rock!

 Guilty Gear is awesome. It's widely considered to be the progenitor of the 'animu fighter', and a very complex fighting game to grasp, and as the series grew, it only got even more complex. In all honesty, at a casual level were you don't have to worry about hitting those 1-frame Fake Roman Cancels, it isn't so bad.

 Judgment is the PSP port of the series, and it's a fairly interesting package. Japan got Guilty Gear Accent Core and Judgment, while America got XX # Reload(It makes sense, I promise!) and Judgment. While Accent Core is a latter update to the franchise, which added Order Sol and ABBA, it also added Force Edge attacks, something not everyone took kindly, so depending on how you see it, 'Guilty Gear X2 # Reload' might be the better game. You are probably wondering just what is 'Judgment', it's a verb. But it's also a made-for-PSP game, a beat'em-up using Guilty Gear XX's characters. And it sorta works.

 Judgment offers a Story Mode, Survival and a 2 Player mode. Story Mode is made up of 6 stages, the first four being comprised of 4 areas each, while stage 5 and 6 are only one are long. You can play as almost every character from XX, except Judgement, Kliff and Robo-Ky, but it does allow you to play as Judgmen't last boss... Judgment. The game has infinite continues, of sorts, every time you pick a your character, you can choose to start from any area, and you always start off with 3 lives, so dying is no biggie, plus, there's a fairly simple extra life cheat that you can just spam if it gets tough. Still, a fairly short game.

 I really loved seeing how each character was adapted into beat'em up form. They kept most of their special and super attacks, via simple quarter circle forward or back inputs. Pulling the ones involving quarter circle backward motions were a bit harder to pull off consistently, but it wasn't a big issue. While this sounds amazing, as the movesets are far larger than, probably, any other beat'em up, the game is very repetitive. There's about 5 different enemy types, and they aren't very creative. The stages are fairly lifeless as well. Sometimes the collision detection felt a bit off as well, but nothing too bad.

 Now then, if only Judgment was on the UMD, I'd suggest skipping the game, but Guilty Gear XX # Reload is one of the finest fighting games ever made. Ever. This is a bit of a straightforward port, everything is unlocked from the start(Justice, Kliff, the SP and EX versions of each character), and there's no Story Mode. You do get Arcade, M.O.M., Vs Player, Vs CPU, Training and Survival, which is all you need really.

 The game looks fantastic on the PSP, I doubt these sprites had ever looked so good before. The character sprites got shrunk for Judgment, but they are every bit as detailed in XX. The Soundtrack is excellent, as per usual, in both XX and Judgment, at least if you like Rock.

 Guilty Gear XX # Reload is a classic, a great fighting game that's great to have on the go. Judgment isn't anything special, but as a companion piece to XX, it's a nice little extra to play if you get tired from the fighting.
 8.0 out of 10.

Review #192: Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 - Full Burst

 The fourth Ninja war begins....!

 'nother year, 'nother Naruto game. As disappointing as Generations was, this is another numbered entry which means CyberConnect2's putting effort into the game again! Picking up where Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 left off, UNS 3 covers the beginning of the Ninja War... and kinda ends on a decidedly non-cannon ending.

 Firstly, Story Mode is back and plays just as UNS 2 did, you take control of Naruto, mostly, as you move around the world of Naruto and follow the story... or fulfill side objectives. This time around, the story is very linear, most roads being blocked off until you clear the Main Story of the game. As linear as it is, it's very slow-paced, with some cutscenes lasting more than 30 minutes... but I'm OK with that, as it does a better job at telling the story... kinda. The first chapters of the game are fairly faithful to the story, but the latter ones, the Ninja War ones, feel much more rushed, a ton of fights missing, including Chiyo(Who is a playable character in the game!) or simplified, like the fight between Mifune and Hanzo or Darui vs the Silver and Gold brothers. Some battles also let you choose between 'Hero'(Normal) or 'Legend'(Hard), which is usually just a different spin on the same battle, since the outcome is the same. I didn't much care for this, I guess it adds some replay value, but I could've done with just a faithful adaptation of the events.

 One of the most beloved things about the Storm series are the Boss battles, and they are back and as impressive as ever. True, they boil down to glorified QTE scenes, but they are done so incredibly well that in this case, I don't really mind them. Also introduced are 'Mob Battles', battles against many weak enemies, which are fairly alright and a nice change of pace. UNS 3 also introduces 'Secret Actions' which are triggered by doing some particular action... there's only three of them(technically 4) in the game, five counting the Full Burst episode, which makes me wonder why even bother with this gimmick if it's gonna go so underused. And as previously mentioned, the game actually has a 'fake' ending in which the bad guys run away(seriously) and peace is restored, it actually left me with a sour taste in my mouth, in this case I would've preferred a 'To be Continued...' to it.

 After you finish the Story, you can finally roam at your leisure and take on and complete sidequests. There's a ton of side activities, from the multiple 'Ninja Timeline' fights or taking the other route on the main story battles to the various quests given by NPCs(Or PCs not on your team), and while it does offer a lot of stuff to do, it doesn't come without flaws. The first issue I've with this is that quests seemingly pop up at random or only after finishing other quests, which means a lot of walking around hoping to run across characters in need. The world is kinda extensive and Naruto isn't the fastest runner around, which can make it a bit tedious. There are some characters that can instantly transport you to other places, for a fee, but there's only about... six of them, not nearly enough, so there's gonna be a lot of walking, back and forth, particularly to clear some of the quests that require finding NPCs... or Zetsus. Lastly, and the thing I despised the most, every now and then a quest will change your 4-man team, but when the quest is over, you will be left with only Naruto, meaning that it's back to the Leaf Village, then walk aaaaaaaall the way to the Hokage's house and reform your team.

 There's both offline and online VS, naturally, you can have Tournament battles, Challenge Missions(There's a 100 of them!), unlockable Survival and Practice. It's pretty clear that as far as things to do go, there's a lot, it seems CC2 wanted to make amends after Generations' weak offering. However, there's a disappointing lack of characters. The revived Kages that you fight in the game, which have their own moves, aren't playable, nor are the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. It's not like the game was overflowing with characters, it may appear so if you look at the character select screen, but there's many versions of the same character. Plus, for some reason they reduced the combo attacks to 3. Yes, they actually removed moves from characters, and while these 'combos' don't really affect the viability of a character(Since your only attack button is circle, and the only thing they change is how the combo ends), it screams of laziness when coupled with the non-playable characters, as if they wanted to make characters faster so they removed moves.

 Other changes include the addition of  'Instant Awakenings', which is just an excuse to allow you to play as KTS Naruto without having to lose over 60% of your health bar. Some character, mostly the ones with generic blue-aura awakenings, have this feature, which allows you to enter Awakening at any time by flicking the right analog stick, and it lasts until your chakra bar gets reduced to about a fourth of its original size(Don't worry, as soon as you exit Awakening, it begins to increase in size) or until you cancel it flicking the right analog stick again. Characters with Instant Awakening felt slightly stronger than the others, Instant Awakening cancel is too strong a tool! Some characters also had their awakenings tweaked with "awakening actions", which are used with R1 and L1(Which means if it's a team battle, you lose access to supports) and vary depending on each character. It's a good addition, just a shame not everyone got them...

 One puzzling new addition are the Ring Outs. Why a Naruto game needed ring outs is beyond me, but you can't turn them off and they can only be done on certain stages. I'm pretty sure nobody asked for this feature, and it happened so rarely that it barely affected me, besides some 'broken' skies(Yes, hitting an enemy against a 'wall', which isn't really a wall, makes the sky 'crack'. It looks hilarious.), but it certainly wasn't needed. Ultimate Jutsus have also been slightly altered, by defeating an enemy with one will make an anime-cut in appear during the animation. It's very jarring, as it brings the Ultimate Jutsu's animation to a halt, put a sepia-colored anime image on the screen while your character says a line, and then continue with it.

 The presentation is top-notch as per usual, smooth animations and excellent character models. Stages are a bit simple, but true to the show. They actually outdid themselves this time around with little details, like how the Kyubi's cheeks jiggle when you hit him, it looks pretty neat. I've never been a particular fan of the UNS soundtrack, but there's some good pieces in this one which fit pretty well the mood of the scenes, particularly the more dramatic or depressing ones.

 While I spent most of this piece complaining about it, I still liked the game, quite a lot. It's fun to play at a casual level, there's a ton of eye-candy, there's a ton of stuff to do(Most of it involving fighting, naturally). It's a much better game than Generations on almost every account, but there's some things that just left me asking "Why?". Why remove combos? Why add Ring-Outs? Why the anime cut-ins when defeating an enemy with an UT?
 8.0 out of 10

Archile's End of the Year Awards 2014 Part 2

As I said last year... 'Time to finish the fight.'

 Without further ado, here are the last Archile Awards of 2014.

 Worst Game of the Year:
I played a lot of crap this year. Maybe not a 'lot', but the bad games were really bad. REALLY bad. And the PSP is home to three of them.
 Nominees:

 Rampage 2 - Universal Tour: It wasn't absolutely terrible, but not only was it a very repetitive game, it was also a very disappointing sequel.

 Dragon Ball Z - Ultimate Tenkaichi: It looks gorgeous. And that's the only good thing you can say about this game. Can you even call it a game? It plays itself. It. Plays. Itself. Even Asura's Wrath had more interactivity than this piece of shovelware.

 Crimson Gem Saga: Beautiful cover, terrible game. Uninteresting story, lame battle mechanics, terrible game design focused on grinding and going around in circles with awful dungeon designs... If I never see this game again, it'll be too soon.

 Mimana - Iyar Chronicle: This game has a lot in common with Crimson Gem Saga: It was made in Korea, it was supposed to be part of a series, of course, both games being terrible made sure that a follow-up would never be made and both are perfect examples of how not to make an RPG. At least this one had a tolerable fighting mechanic. Kinda.

 Saint Seiya Omega - Ultimate Cosmos: It's probably the best game on this list, yet the one I scored the lowest. Why? If you don't have anyone to play this game with, this game is basically unplayable, the CPU will make its darnedest to make sure that you don't have fun with this game.

Loser:

 Dragon Ball Z - Ultimate Tenkaichi and Saint Seiya Omega - Ultimate Cosmos: This was almost a three way tie with Crimson Gem Saga, but as terrible as Crimson Gem Saga was, at least it was playable. Ultimate Tenkaichi basically plays itself while trying to play Ultimate Cosmos against the CPU makes sure that you won't have any fun playing it. I really couldn't decide which was worse.

 Nintendo DS Game of the Year:

There really weren't a whole lot of DS games I played this year, but enough to be worth making a category for. Besides, it's my blog and I can do whatever I want.

 Nominees:

 Kirby Super Star Ultra: There's a ton of bite-sized mini Kirby adventures in this one, each one offering its own little spin on how you play. Originally a SNES game, it fits the handheld console like a charm.

 Flower, Sun and Rain: As a game, it's pretty bad. But as with most Suda 51 games, they are made up of more than 'graphics' and 'gameplay'. Suda 51 games have a lot of personality, and this is no exception, a fascinating setting with memorable characters and situations.... Suda 51 can really do no wrong in my book.

 Mega Man StarForce - Dragon: This is the third time that I've dabbled in Mega Man StarForce 1, and while I'm not as much into the series as I once was... I can appreciate it being a decent game.

Winner:

 Flower, Sun and Rain: I may have scored Kirby higher, as a game, but at the end of the day, I hold this game in a higher regard. I can remember my time with Flower, Sun and Rain, the NPCs, like the temperamental hotel manager, the vain actress, the comedic duo, the Luchador that would block your way through the stairs the first couple of... 'days', the cleaning lady that would make Mondo trip every day... There's a reason I love Suda 51's games, they always manage to leave their mark on me.

 Nintendo 3DS Game of the Year:
Another year I've yet to play a 3DS must-have. Which really sucks, I could name a ton of DS must-haves, but I feel as if the 3DS still hasn't got a console seller. But then again, I haven't sunk my teeth on Smash Bros for 3DS... but then again, you can have a better version on Wii-U... Regardless, not having console sellers doesn't equal not having great games, such as these.
 Nominees:

 Code of Princess: The GBA had Final Fight One, the DS had... well, it had a bunch of these, but the 3DS now has a traditional 2-D Beat'em up to call its own. Code of Princess is reminiscent of Guardian Heroes Advance, with a lot of characters, even if not all of them are equally fleshed out, and a lot of missions to level them up.

 Mario Kart 7: I said it before and I'll say it again, when compared to Mario Kart DS, it was a disappointment, but by its own right, it's a good mascot racer. All throughout the year I found myself racing against random strangers online every now and then, so I can attest that I didn't just forget about it. Still, it's not my go-to kart racer when I go out on a trip or vacations.

 Samurai Warriors - Chronicles: A worthy pseudo-port of Samurai Warriors 3 on the 3DS, it retains every character and, I believe, every stage from that game, alongside two new original heroes. I wasn't too fond of the "missions" on each stage, and how'd they bring the action to a halt, but hey, Samurai Warriors on the go!

 Shinobi: A challenging 2-D platformer made on a budget. This game was a blast, pure and simple. It's definitely not a game for everyone, and if you didn't grow up with the trial-and-error platformers of yesteryear... might wanna skip it.

 Shin Megami Tensei - Devil Summoner - Soul Hackers: As with most Shin Megami Tensei spin offs, the name is quite a handful! A bit short for Shin Megami Tensei standards, a bit predictable as well, but non-the-less a fun RPG.

Winner:

 Shinobi: The only game on this list I don't have a single valid complaint about. I mean, I could tell you about the simple, dull graphics, about the simple-to-a-fault combat, about the slightly imperfect controls... But they are mostly nitpicks, Shinobi is a great game with very minor issues that keep it from being a true must-have.

 Playstation Game of the Year:
I played MANY Playstation games. Platformers and RPGs mostly, and they were so good. So. Good.
 Nominees:

 Castlevania - Symphony of the Night: The golden standard on which every subsequent Castleroid is measured. The game that changed Castlevania for years to come. Symphony of the Night is to this day one of the finest Castleroid/Metroidvanias ever created.

 Wild Arms 2: A Western-styled JRPG, it offers some very entertaining spins on the formula. Dungeons have a ton of puzzles, solved by using different tools, not unlike Zelda, while the Combat relies on it's original 'FP' mechanic. It's an all-around great JRPG.

 JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: It's easy to forget that Capcom once made a fighting game of the JoJo series, part 3 to be exact. It's a much more technical fighter than 2013's game, a game that borrowed a lot from this one, a fact that speaks volumes of this game's quality.

 Crash Bandicoot 2 - Cortex Strikes Back: While the Crash series didn't get absolutely terrible, no game could match the genius of Naughty Dog's final two platforming Crash games. Crash 3 has more variety and new special moves that make the game a blast to replay... but there's something about Crash 2's focus on platforming that makes me gravitate towards it. This game is one of the best in the genre, alongside Mario and the first Sonic games.

 Parasite Eve: If someone could get me to like a Survival Horror game, it would be 1997's SquareSoft. Sure, it's more RPG than Survival Horror, but that's why I like it so much. To this day, it remains a very original and entertaining RPG, with a very unique setting and a very entertaining combat system.

Winner:

 Castlevania - Symphony of the Night: I've already played this game a lot of times, but this year I completed it twice, and the second time was as addictive as the first. This is a game that hasn't lost its luster, a classic that won't be forgotten any time soon, and of which I won't get tired for the foreseeable future.

 Playstation 2 Game of the Year:
This year it seems I really favored Sony's consoles, to think that I consider myself a Nintendo fanboy! Some of the best games I played this year were on the PS2 console, no surprise there, it's part of my three favorite consoles(SNES, PS2 and DS).
 Nominees:

 Street Fighter - Anniversary Collection: My favorite Street Fighter game coupled with the classic that is Street Fighter II, this disc is an excellent deal that gave me hours of fun as I rekindled my love for Street Fighter III and rediscovered just how much I used to love Street Fighter II.

 Castlevania - Lament of Innocence: This is Castlevania in 3-D done right. The beloved Metroidvania gameplay, with recognizable enemies, bosses and weapons make it the perfect reminder of what Lords of Shadows should've been. It's also a pretty bangin' game to boot!

 Dark Cloud 2: How weird is it for such an obscure genre as the Rogue-likes are to be published by Sony, the console manufacturer? As far as Rogue-likes go, it's fairly accessible so that anyone could make it to the end with a bit of effort. Gameplay, characters and story were great, but the presentation was outstanding, beautiful graphics, charming soundtrack and convincing voice acting, truly a PS2 classic.

 Shinobi: Hotsuma is the badassest Ninja ever created, and if you don't agree... well, you are wrong. For some reason, this game hit right at home, I had a ton of fun with it, and it was quite satisfying thanks to it being mildly challenging.

 Outrun 2006 - Coast 2 Coast: A Racing game made it to my nominees over other worthy games, that should prove how fun this game is. As a matter of fact, I consider it more of an Arcade Adventure Racing game, but that's just me, still, it's that feeling of adventure that kept me coming back for more.

Winner:

 Outrun 2006 - Coast 2 Coast: There's something to be said about a game that is made of pure, simple fun. Going through this game was one of the most fun experiences I had this whole year.

 Playstation Portable Game of the Year:
The new console! I was a bit disappointed at first, but eventually I got around to the really good games, so I'd say that it was a worthy purchase.
 Nominees:

 Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy: The name makes no sense, just as Squeenix as of late and the storyline of the game. That aside, Dissidia is a very... different game, and it somehow comes together to make a fairly engaging game. There's a lot of characters, a lot of moves, a lot of costumes, a lot of unlockables and a ton to do, if you have a PSP, Dissidia is a game you must own.

 Castlevania - The Dracula X Chronicles: Game's so good, it also made it to the PS1 best of the year. And EVEN if Symphony of the Night wasn't included, this game would've made it to the list based on Rondo of Blood's own merits. One of the finest Metroidvanias and one of the finest Classicvanias, another PSP must have.

 Gladiator Begins: Surprisingly great game. It had a charming cast of characters, a simple but effective combat system and a nice amount of customization when it came to developing your Gladiator.

 Justice Force: This game was made FOR me. It has everything I want in a game, and it's surprising that nobody else has tried to do what this game did since. Justice Force is the definition of "action game", no other game I've played has embodied the concept so perfectly.

 Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX: Street Fighter Alpha 3 is one of the best Street Fighters out there, and MAX is the definitive version. I don't remember ever playing a Fighting game with more modes than this one. There's a lot to like in here, simple but deep gameplay(Actually, it's as deep as you want it to be, can't be bother to learn complexities? Pick X-ISM. Want freedom? V-ISM, and then you can further tailor the game by using the different 'modes'...), fantastic graphics. tons of great music...

Winner:

 Castlevania - The Dracula X Chronicles: This category was one of the hardest to pick a winner for, four of these five games I would consider PSP must-haves, and the other one was so good that it deserved to be nominated. But the reason I picked Castlevania is because it includes two excellent games that deserve this spot.

 Playstation 3 Game of the Year:
I played some awesome PS3 games this year. Almost too many. Assassin's Creed 2 and 4, Darksiders 1 and 2, Borderlands 2, Gundam Extreme VS Full Boost, Deadly Premonition, Kingdoms of Amalur, Diablo 3.... it was a crowded category, but I somehow narrowed it down to five.
 Nominees:

 Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme Vs Full Boost: Arcadey gameplay, over 90 unique units and two on two fighting... this game was made for me. The hours upon hours that I spent on this game and vanilla Extreme VS... I can't wait until Maxi Boost gets a port!

 Borderlands 2 - Game of the Year Edition: The only thing that could've made this game better would've been if it had included every DLC, not to say that I'm not satisfied with what's on the Disc, it seems I just can't get enough Borderlands in my life.

 Assassin's Creed II: Despite how repetitive AC 1 was, I didn't think it had much promise. Then came Assassin's Creed II and marveled me with how much it fixed and improved upon the first game, it made it look like a Beta. I'm not kidding.

 Darksiders: I wish I could pinpoint exactly why I loved Darksiders so much, but it's... it's a great Zelda pseudo-clone. This is how I think Zelda games should be, not necessarily in tone, but in gameplay. It made combat feel purposeful, since War could grow stronger and learn new moves. It had fun puzzles to solve and tools to use, alongside an entertaining variety of quests, including a gentleman zombie boss!

 Deadly Premonition - The Director's Cut: Terrible graphics, intrusive framerate issues, mediocre gameplay... but such an engaging, memorable setting, alongside such a charming cast of characters, each one having their own quirks and personalities... It's not a good 'game', but it's an excellent piece of software, if that makes any sense?

Winner:

 Darksiders: I really wish I could explain just why I liked this game so much. What can I say, it just 'clicked' with me. I liked both the setting and the gameplay, and it quickly became one of my favorite games of all time.

Game of the Year nominees:

 Castlevania - The Dracula X Chronicles/ Castlevania - Symphony of the Night: The only game that made it twice into these awards, I just felt that both deserved to share a slot... even if Dracula X Chronicles is the better game for the simple fact that it INCLUDES the other one!

 DarkSiders: A game I had a blast with, I binged it until I completed it.

 OutRun 2006 - Coast 2 Coast: Fun, thy name is OutRun 2006.

 Shinobi: A fantastic throwback to the Genesis' Shinobi games.

Winner:

 DarkSiders: I wish I could put into words WHY I liked it so much. Every element they borrowed from another game meshed together with the other components flawlessly. It never tried to hide the fact that it was inspired by many other games, so instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, it simply try to add its own spin of it, and Vigil pulled it off perfectly.